Electric vacuum cleaner



Sept. 29, 71970 P. DUBBELMAN ETA!- 3,530,527

ELECTRIC VACUUM CLEANER Filed Feb. 26, 1968 P R D INVAENNTORS P BY 2.5% s. friimn United States Patent Office 3,530,527 ELECTRIC VACUUM CLEANER Pieter Dubbelman, Leeuwarden, Keimpe Klaas Keimpema, Giekerk, and Pieter Cornelis van der Ham, Grouw, Netherlands, assignors, by mesne assignments, to U.S. Philips Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 708,305 Claims priority, application 3lzllitherlands, Mar. 10, 1967, 670 3 Int. Cl. A471 5/00 U.S. Cl. 15327 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A low silhouette vacuum-cleaner with a fiat laminated rotor which supports an impeller. A nozzle is located on the suction side of the impeller and filter elements are provided within the nozzle for collecting the dust from the air; so that purified air can be discharged from the housing.

The invention relates to an electric vacuum-cleaner.

In particular to a cleaner having a construction which will permit its operation in confined areas such as under cupboards, beds etc.

The vacuum-cleaner according to the invention is characterized in that it is provided with a motor having a fiat laminated rotor the diameter of which considerably exceeds its length and the outer periphery of which supports an impeller. The stator coils are located on either side of the rotor, which is enclosed in a cylindrical motor housing. A nozzle having a slot-shaped aperture is provided with one or more dust-collecting chambers. The nozzle and the housing are directly interconnected. The motor housing has an upper surface which extends approximately at right angles to the axis of nozzle and is provided with one or more suction outlets for the air which is partially purified, the lower surface also extends at right angles to the said axis and directly connected to the nozzle.

In one embodiment of the invention the outer periphery of the nozzle is cylindrical and has the same diameter as the motor housing so that an aesthetically pleasing assembly is obtained which can "be readily manufactured and mounted.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the upper surface of the housing supports a hood provided with one or more apertures to which a shaft can be secured for operating the vacuum-cleaner and which also accommodates the current-supply brushes for the rotor, the commutator for this rotor, the electric cable connection and, one or more dust filters. Thus, a compact construction is obtained and the parts which are first to be replaced owing to wear are readily accessible.

A further embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the hood is provided with a continuous duct which has a passage of gradually increasing width. The passage is open on its transverse side in the area adjacent the impeller outlet opening. At the point of the maximum width of the passage the duct has an opening through which the air sucked up is discharged from the hood. Thus, the rate at which the air flows away is reduced so that the occurrence of a strong current of air, which may be disadvantageous under certain conditions, is avoided.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the hood may accommodate an additional dust filter which closes the opening in the hood so that the air blown away is as dust-free as possible.

Patented Sept. 29, 1970 The invention will be described with reference to the drawing, which shows an embodiment of the invention and in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a fiat vacuum-cleaner, and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the vacuum-cleaner of FIG. 1 taken on the line I III, viewed in the direction of the arrow.

In the figures, reference numeral 1 designates a nozzle in which a cup-shaped member 2 is arranged so that a slot-shaped aperture 3 is formed between the nozzle and the member. The cup-shaped member is provided with a depression or chamber 4. A second cup '7 having an edge 8 is placed on a central edge 5 of the nozzle member provided with an opening 6. At 9, the member 2 and the nozzle 1 are interconnected by means of screws (not shown). An upper surface 10 of the nozzle 1 is provided with eight openings 11 evenly distributed over this surface and with a large opening 12. In the latter opening 12 a cup 15 is disposed which is provided with an edge 13 and a flange 14 and a depressed part 17 which receives a ballbearing 16. The screws at 9 also connect the cup 15 to the upper surface of the nozzle 1. The space between the edge 8 and the central edge 5 of the nozzle accommodates a dust filter 18 which has a circular shape and lies on the openings 11.

A motor shaft 19, one end of which is journalled in the ballbearing 16, supports a laminated rotor 20 which has a diameter many times exceeding its length and which is provided with windings, heads 21 which (shown diagrammatically) are located on either side of the rotor.

Stators 22 of permanent magnetic material are likewise located on either side of the rotor, the periphery of which is free of windings. One outer plate 23 of the rotor 20 is larger than the other plates; the part of this plate projecting beyond the other plates is deformed to blades 24 so that the rotor and the blades are integral and an impeller is formed. This impeller rotates in a part 25 of the housing which is connected by means of screws to the nozzle 1 and the inner periphery of which is rounded off. A second part 26 is placed on this part 25 of the housing; this second part supports at the centre by means of two supporting members 27 a hood 28 accommodating a ballbearing 29 for the shaft 19. This part further has an annular opening 31 bridged by connecting strips 30.

The second part 26 supports two brush holders 32 and the brushes arranged therein co-operate with a commutator 33 provided on the shaft 19.

A hood 34 is slipped over the second part 2 6 of the housing and is secured thereto by means of screws or resilient brackets (not shown), this hood has two plates 35 between which a shaft can be rotatably arranged. Further, a cable 36 is passed through the hood.

The inner wall of this hood 34 has a curved wall 37 of a duct 38; this wall extends so that the passage of the duct 38 located above the openings 30 gradually increases in width and thus assumes the form of a snailshell. An outlet 39 extends through a discharge outlet or opening 40 in the hood.

The nozzle as well as the parts of the housing and the hood are all concentric to the motor shaft 19. The hood 34 can be readily removed to provide access to the brush holder 32. The cup-shaped member 2 may also be rapidly removed, if desired, by the use of a bayonet joint, so that the bearings and the dust filter 18 are readily accessible.

The vacuum-cleaner described has a low silhouette above the surface to be cleaned so that it is particularly suitable for operation under cupboards, beds and the like. The air path is small so that the frictional losses are also small; thus, the power of the motor may be lower than is usual.

The coarse dirt remains in the depression or chamber 4; the dust filter 18 only collects the fine dirt. This dust filter may also be replaced or complemented by a filter above the openings 30. Moreover, a dust-bag may be arranged in the depression or receptacle chamber 4.

It is not necessary for the shape of the nozzle 1 to conform to the shape of the motor housing; the diameter of the nozzle 1 may be larger and the nozzle may be of a quite different shape. A trapezoidal nozzle may sometimes be advantageous.

The end faces both of the nozzle 1 and of the cup 2 may also be provided with removable brushes. Due to the fact that the air sucked up has only a short path to travel, a lower subatmospheric pressure will be sufficient and the motor can rotate at a lower speed than is usual; thus, the noise of the motor can be reduced.

In another embodiment, the duct 38 may be omitted; and the hood 34 may be provided with a few openings instead of the single opening 40.

What is claimed is:

1. A low-silhouette vacuum-cleaner comprising a housing, a motor having a fiat laminated rotor mounted within said housing, impeller means supported by said rotor for producing an air flow through the housing, a nozzle connected to the housing on the suction side of the impeller,

a cup-shaped receptacle member mounted within the nozzle and spaced from the outer periphery of the nozzle thereby defining between the receptacle and nozzle an inlet opening, a filter arranged in the nozzle for removing dust particles from the air flow, a hood member attached to the housing on the exhaust side of the impeller and an exhaust opening defined in said hood member for discharging filtered air from the housing.

2. A vacuum-cleaner as claimed in claim 1 wherein the outer periphery of the nozzle is cylindrical and an annular inlet opening is defined between the receptacle and nozzle.

3. A vacuum-cleaner as claimed in claim 2 wherein the air-flow through the housing is confined within passage means, said means having a gradually increasing width from the inlet opening to the exhaust opening for reducing air currents during discharge from the exhaust opening.

4. A vacuum-cleaner as claimed in claim 3 wherein the receptacle is shaped to provide at least one dust collecting chamber.

5. A vacuum-cleaner as claimed in claim 4 wherein the receptacle is removably attached to the nozzle to provide access to the filter.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,718,804 6/1929 White 15-412 X 2,340,944 2/ 1944 Easter.

2,753,434 7/ 1956 Storm 15 -344 X 2,974,346 3/1961 Hahn 15--344 3,050,650 8/ 1962 Henry-Baudot 310268 3,337,122 8/1967 Gross 310-268 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,155,888 10/1963 Germany.

ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 15-344 

